Zheng Chenggong was a national hero who recaptured Taiwan from the Dutch invaders. However, when the Qing Dynasty took Taiwan, it implemented a policy of exterminating Zheng Chenggong's descendants. So, did Zheng Chenggong have any descendants who escaped and continued the incense?
Zheng Chenggong
Zheng Chenggong's father, Zheng Zhilong, was a big pirate and had almost a monopoly on 90% of the maritime business. At that time, the passing ships from Japan to China mainly hung the banner of Zheng Zhilong, and the pirates gave face. However, Zheng Zhilong later surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and Zheng Chenggong had the opportunity to obtain his father's old troops, continue to resist the Qing on the southeast coast of China, and became one of the main military forces in the late Southern Ming Dynasty, once raiding by sea and besieging Qingjiang Ningfu (formerly Nanjing of the Ming Dynasty), but was eventually repelled by the Qing army, and could only rely on the advantage of naval warfare to hold on to the islands of Xiamen and Kinmen in Quanzhou Province.
In 1661, Zheng Chenggong led an army across the Taiwan Strait, defeated the garrison of the Dutch East India Company in Taiwan, recovered Taiwan, and began Zheng's rule in Taiwan. Zheng Chenggong had a short life and died at the age of 38. After that, his descendants began to run Taiwan.
Shi Lang stills
In fact, the Zheng family has been running Taiwan for only 22 years.
In 1683, Shi Lang, the admiral of the Qing Dynasty, successively captured Penghu and Taiwan, and Zheng Chenggong's grandson Zheng Ketuan was forced to surrender. After that, the Qing Dynasty bloodbathed Zheng Chenggong's descendants, and Zheng Ketuan died of illness for no reason. So, did Zheng Chenggong still have his descendants survive?
According to the records, Zheng Chenggong had ten sons. They are Zheng Jing, Zheng Cong, Zheng Ming, Zheng Rui, Zheng Zhi, Zheng Kuan, Zheng Yu, Zheng Wen, Zheng Rou, and Zheng Fa. Long before Shi Lang conquered Taiwan, Zheng Chenggong's third son had fled to Fujian, and later fled to Huaiji, where he lived in anonymity in what is now Dalang Village. Zheng Kuan, the sixth son of Zheng Chenggong, fled north with his second son Zheng Xing, and luckily escaped Shi Lang's pursuit and began to live in anonymity. He also formulated family rules, one of which stipulates that ----- "do not reveal one's own identity", and with this family motto, the descendants will multiply.
According to historians, Zheng Chenggong's descendants are mainly distributed in Taiwan, mainland China and Japan, and have been passed down to the 13th generation.
Zheng Shourang, the 9th generation descendant of Zheng Chenggong, now lives in Taiwan and is a ichthyologist and one of the main contributors to the revival of cherry blossom hookfish in Taiwan. In the 1980s, he successfully re-bred and released 2,000 cherry blossom hookfish. In addition to the successful restoration of cherry blossom hookfish, Zheng Shourang is also known as the "father of Taiwanese ayu" because he "resurrected" the ayu in Taiwan.
According to media reports, after the TV series "Kangxi Dynasty" was broadcast, the discrepancy between the historical figures and historical facts in the drama caused great repercussions among the descendants of the Zheng clan, and the descendants of Zheng Chenggong in Fujian held a seminar! [References: Studies on qing history, Relics of Zheng Jing in Taiwan] (Author: Daily Chinese characters)